I have a query about the efficiency of heat pumps and the soil
conditions most suitable for ground source horizontal collectors.
I have been told by a very experienced heating systems expert
that there is a rather large dependency on the efficiency of
a heat pump used with ground source horizontal heat collector
on the type of soil and thermal conducitive properties of that
soil. He told me that peaty/boggy soil as opposed to gravelly
soil is by far the best type of soil to be used in conjunction
with a heat pump. He even shyed away from installing a system
in a house where the land just didn't have those spongy/boggy
characteristics.
Can anyone add weight to this argument ?
I am looking at booking a company to do gshp & ufh and I have
heard that a lot of these companies will do a very clean &
professional job of installing and commissioning the system but
they will most likely put little emphasis on giving the customer
a realistic assessment of the limiting aspects of ground conditions
on the sort of COP/efficiency of the heat pump.
My concern is that we put down a horizontal collector in "good"
(non peaty/boggy) soil and the pump has to work harder
than it would do if it was laid in something approximating
bog and
1. I end up with a higher ESB bill on account of the lower effective COP
2. The pump lifetime is statistically shortened because of the harder
work it has to do per annum to yield the required heat for the
house.
Is this a valid concern or am I fixating on the negative ?
I really do have a concern that companies see a 25-30k contract
and they will install even though ground conditions are a good
deal less than optimal !
~ipl
conditions most suitable for ground source horizontal collectors.
I have been told by a very experienced heating systems expert
that there is a rather large dependency on the efficiency of
a heat pump used with ground source horizontal heat collector
on the type of soil and thermal conducitive properties of that
soil. He told me that peaty/boggy soil as opposed to gravelly
soil is by far the best type of soil to be used in conjunction
with a heat pump. He even shyed away from installing a system
in a house where the land just didn't have those spongy/boggy
characteristics.
Can anyone add weight to this argument ?
I am looking at booking a company to do gshp & ufh and I have
heard that a lot of these companies will do a very clean &
professional job of installing and commissioning the system but
they will most likely put little emphasis on giving the customer
a realistic assessment of the limiting aspects of ground conditions
on the sort of COP/efficiency of the heat pump.
My concern is that we put down a horizontal collector in "good"
(non peaty/boggy) soil and the pump has to work harder
than it would do if it was laid in something approximating
bog and
1. I end up with a higher ESB bill on account of the lower effective COP
2. The pump lifetime is statistically shortened because of the harder
work it has to do per annum to yield the required heat for the
house.
Is this a valid concern or am I fixating on the negative ?
I really do have a concern that companies see a 25-30k contract
and they will install even though ground conditions are a good
deal less than optimal !
~ipl